


Deception of the samurai

by AngelMouse, MzDany



Category: Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt Hunter, M/M, Post-Season/Series Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-03-10 03:23:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18930295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelMouse/pseuds/AngelMouse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MzDany/pseuds/MzDany
Summary: Cam and Hunter’s relationship is flourishing, but a new Samurai student, who isn’t quite who she appears to be, is threatening that harmony - with dangerous consequences.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a backdated work and not part of MzDany's Cam/Hunter series. 
> 
> Also, if the story’s style sounds inconsistent to you at times, it is because both MzDany and AngelMouse have stayed true to their respective writing styles. MzDany uses American English spelling, grammar and sentence structure, while AngelMouse uses Australian English spelling, grammar and sentence structure. You’ll probably be able to tell who wrote which parts ;)

The small glade was quiet and out of the way. There was a small rock pool that had a tiny waterfall flowing gently down the rocks into the pool. The sounds of the water hitting the rocks filled the clearing with a soft tinkling sound that suited the surroundings perfectly. The water was sweet tasting and was always cold. The surrounding trees filled the small glade with sweet smells of fresh leaves and tiny flowers. The soft grass surrounding the pool was gentle and green, inviting even. Rock walls surrounded the small out-of-the-way clearing, guaranteeing privacy for those who wanted it. And the two people that came to this small, quiet, serene clearing always appreciated the privacy.

 Once a week, the two men came together in this secluded glade at the end of a usually hectic week. It was their escape from their duties, their responsibilities, and their lives. For a few hours each week they got together, discussed work and then spent time together, enjoying each other’s company. Knowing that these few hours they spent together were usually stolen hours from their responsibilities back at their respective homes. But neither of them minded. It was worth it to them.

 Hunter arrived in the small glade first this week. Normally he was running late and Cam was always waiting for him, but this week he was early for a change. He grinned as he finished streaking into their meeting spot, glad to be one up on the Samurai for a change. He unslung his bag and set it down on a rock. He opened it and took out a blanket. He had come prepared this time, he wanted to surprise Cam. So, after they conducted their Academy business, a picnic lunch was going to go down well. He spread the blanket on the ground and then took out his notebook, setting it down. Hunter’s face broke out into a small smile as he remembered the first time they came here. After the Rangers had finally defeated Lothor and sealed the Abyss of Evil over him, he and Cam were finally free to turn their attention to other things, namely the feelings of attraction that had been growing between them for quite some time, but with the ever-present threat of Lothor and his monsters, there had just never been a real opportunity for a heart-to-heart. Until the final battle on the grounds of the US Action Games. Afterwards, Cam had shown him this glade, where they had their first serious talk about their feelings for each other – and where they had shared their first kiss. Six weeks ago to this very day. Hunter dove back into the bag and then suddenly grinned as there was a gentle flutter of wind announced the arrival of his friend. He turned around and grinned, crossing his arms as he watched the figure in black leather walk towards him. 

“You’re late for once.” Hunter’s tone was teasing and light and the figure just raised an eyebrow as he approached.

Cam studied Hunter as he walked along the soft grass, tilting his head slightly at the blanket on the ground. Obviously Hunter had some plans for later, after Academy business. Hunter’s eyes were warm and friendly, and even though he had his arms crossed, there was gentleness about his friend that not many people saw.

“This from the man who’s perpetually late to anything and everything he’s supposed to be at.” Hunter snorted and uncrossed his arms, turning back to his bag.

“Be nice or you don’t get your surprise.” Cam moved to his side, unslinging his bag and setting it down next to Hunter’s.

“I get a surprise? What is it?” Hunter grinned at him and waggled a finger at him, closing his bag up and grinning. Cam grabbed the finger and pulled Hunter towards him. “That’s not fair.” Hunter just grinned and gave Cam a light kiss on his lips, then pulled his hand free.

“Not telling. Not until later, after you’ve been good and asked me nicely.” Cam snorted as he got his own folder out of his backpack and put it down on the blanket.

“You know, I sometimes wonder who’s meant to be the older out of you and Blake. Sometimes you act like a two-year-old.” Hunter laughed and sat down with ease on the blanket, with a gracefulness that someone of his size and build you wouldn’t suspect of possessing.

“You’re just jealous. Now come on, let’s get this out of the way so we can have some fun and relax for a little bit. It’s a beautiful day and I don’t really want to spend the entire day talking about Academy business.” Cam laughed softly, shaking his head as he gave up and sat down on the blanket opposite Hunter, taking his notebook up and sitting it in his lap. Hunter copied his movements and opened his notebook.

“Okay, we’ll be quick and then we can relax for a while. Truth be told, I’m feeling a bit frazzled this week. It hasn’t been an easy week.” Hunter looked up, his eyes concerned.

“Why? What’s been happening?” Cam sighed and shook his head.

“Later. Come on; let’s get this out of the way.” Cam glanced down at his notebook and looked up, smiling slightly. “So, what’s first?”

                       

                     ********************************

                       

“That about it you think, Cam?” Hunter asked some time later and Cam nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I think that about wraps it up for this week.”

 “Good.” Hunter flipped his folder closed “Then we can move on to the really interesting part of the meeting.” Cam looked up from his own binder as he finished making one final note in it, his expression curious.

“What part? I thought we had already talked about everything.” There was a knowing sparkle in his eyes as he looked at Hunter.

“Oh, this part doesn’t involve any talking, believe me,” Hunter said, a wolfish grin on his face as he moved closer to Cam, his eyes sparkling with a challenge in them, a challenge that Cam was happy to accept. Moments later they were rolling around on the ground, kissing, and tussling like a pair of school kids instead of the grown men they were.

 Quite some time later the note books had been put away and the makings of a lunch had been put aside after all the food had been consumed. The two figures were reclining now on the blanket, their black leather jackets having been removed and thrown off to one side after their earlier bout of wrestling. Hunter had his eyes closed, the sun streaming down through the trees, reflecting off his blond hair. Underneath his jacket he had on a tight black t-shirt that Cam privately thought made Hunter even more gorgeous than he normally was. Cam was lying on his back, his head resting on Hunter’s stomach, his eyes closed as Hunter absently stroked his hair gently. Cam’s t-shirt was crimson underneath his leather jacket, something that had caused Hunter to grin when he had removed his jacket. Cam stirred slightly and opened his eyes with a soft groan.

“What’s wrong, Cam?” Cam sighed.

“I should really be getting back.”

“Why? Is there trouble at the Wind Academy? Is that why you’re feeling frazzled this week?” Cam sighed and sat up, hunching his shoulders slightly. Hunter opened his eyes and sat up, concern on his face. “Cam?” Cam sighed but didn’t turn to face Hunter. Hunter was getting really worried now and he shifted slightly, moving so that he was right behind Cam and put his hand on Cam’s shoulder. “Things are getting worse for you, aren’t they? That’s why you're feeling stressed out.” Cam stiffened slightly but then he relaxed, nodding.

“A little. It would help if I had more than four Samurai students. How can I be the Head Teacher of the Wind Academy when all I teach is four Samurai students and a couple of basic beginner classes? Until I complete my element studies, Dad won’t let me teach an element class.” Hunter wrapped his arms around Cam’s chest, drawing the samurai back against him.

“He obviously doesn’t know what you’re capable of. You don’t have to have an elemental affiliation to teach an element class.” Cam sighed, leaning back against Hunter’s chest, drawing support from his boyfriend’s presence.

“I know. But I guess that Dad feels that tradition and rules have to be followed. It’s just annoying that sometimes I can’t teach what I know because of a silly tradition.” Hunter leaned his head against the back of Cam’s.

“It’s not easy being the son of a sensei, Cam, we both know this. Sometimes, traditions, even silly ones have to be followed. We both know that.” Cam sighed, knowing Hunter was right but it didn’t make things easier.

“Yeah I know. You’re right, Hunter. Just doesn’t make it easy to accept, though.” Hunter laughed softly, beginning to place gentle kisses on Cam’s neck, causing the samurai to shiver slightly.

“Hey, I’m always right; you should be used to it by now.” Cam shivered again as Hunter’s gentle kisses went along the back of his neck.

“You keep that up and neither of us is going to get any working out done today.” Hunter just chuckled softly in his ear and began to nibble on it.

“Oh, I have an idea for some sort of work-out in mind.” Cam just laughed softly and leaned back against Hunter’s strong body, relaxing in his boyfriend’s warm arms and strong embrace.

“You know, you are so bad for my discipline.” Hunter chuckled again, his lips moving back down to Cam’s neck.

“I’ll show you some discipline.”

“Hunter!” Hunter chuckled and relaxed his grip on Cam’s body, easing up on the kisses for a moment.

“What?” Cam turned slightly and chuckled, reaching up and running a hand along Hunter’s face.

“You never cease to amaze me.” Cam suddenly got a wicked grin on his face and his eyes sparkled with mirth. Hunter saw this and looked at Cam warily. When Cam got like this, Hunter usually ended up with a surprise, although it was usually a good one.

“Cam, what are you thinking?” Cam just chuckled and with a fleeting movement, he brushed a light kiss on Hunter’s lips and then sprung up from where they had been sitting. He began to back towards the pool.

“Nothing much, just that it’s a really nice day today. A nice hot day today.” Cam kept slowly backing up; taking his t-shirt off and walking back towards the pool. Hunter stood up, following him slowly, grinning as he took his t-shirt off.

“Yeah, it is too. And what do you think we should do about it?” Cam had reached the edge of the pool by now and stopped, taking off his boots.

“I’m sure we’ll think of something, don’t you.” Hunter just grinned and walked closer to Cam, the smile on his face growing wider.

 

                                    **********************************

 

Cam walked into the Academy office a few hours later, the smile on his face refusing to leave it. The weekly meetings with Hunter to discuss Academy business were the highlights of his week. That and any time they got to spend together, that is. They usually managed to spend at least one night a week together – for dinner or something – and most weeks were able to catch one or two days where they could lunch together at either Academy. He walked into his room, putting down his bag and taking out his notebook. It was getting towards evening meal time and he usually spent it with his father after meeting with Hunter discussing Wind and Thunder Academy business. He found it a nice way to wind down and get ready for the week ahead. He headed for his father’s quarters but was distracted by the sounds of his father speaking to someone from the direction of his study. Curious, a failing he had since he was very little, Cam turned and headed towards his dad’s study. He knocked on his dad’s door gently.

“Dad, may I come in?”

“Please, enter Cameron.” Cam opened the door and walked in, bowing slightly in respect when he saw that his father was entertaining someone. Kanoi smiled warmly and gestured for Cam to come in further. “Cameron, I would like you to meet Kami Amigosa. She is transferring to the Wind Academy from the Sun Academy in China. She’ll be joining your Samurai Class as a new student. I have all her transcripts and transfer papers for you to go over later.” Cam turned, looking at the young woman sitting across from his father with delight but also with surprise. _A new Samurai student!_

She was about his height, had straight, dark long hair and violet eyes. She was of Asian looking descent and Cam had to admit that she was quite attractive to look at.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms Amigosa.” She stood and bowed in reply. When she spoke, her voice was soft but it felt like there was contained power beneath it. Her accent was crisp and Cam thought he detected the hint of an upper class British accent, but he wasn’t sure.

“And you, Sensei. Your father has told me much about your classes. When Sensei Hiro told me about the Samurai program instituted by your father, I just had to request a transfer. I have always wanted to train as a Samurai but have been unable to in China.”  She smiled gently at his father and continued. “The Samurai program here is the only one of its kind across all the Ninja Academies; it’s a very unique program. I am very honoured that your father has accepted my transfer request.”

Cam nodded at her words and took the papers that his father held out to him.

“I’ll have to look over your transfer papers and teaching transcripts from your old Academy, but that can wait until morning. I’ll leave you to finish your discussions with my father. Welcome on board,” Cam said with another bow. “We can begin your training first thing in the morning.” She nodded and Cam turned to Kanoi. “Dad, I’ll be in my office when you’re ready for evening meal.”

“Yes Cameron.” Cam nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. He glanced down at the papers in his hands and shrugged. He really wished his father had talked to him first about accepting a new student, but it was a good thing all the same. Now he had five students to teach and knowledge about his program was getting out there among the other Academies. A smile appeared on his face as he opened the door into his office. Today had been a good day.

 

                                                *******************************

 

At two o’clock in the morning, an utter stillness had descended over the Wind Academy. Inside the small room at the end of the hallway in the student’s dorm, the petite figure stretched out on the bed briefly wondered whether she was the only one still awake in the entire school. Hands behind her head, Kami Amigosa watched the silvery moonlight play with the shadows on the ceiling. Her involuntary status as the only female samurai student residing on campus had resulted in a solitary room and she was glad for it, for the last thing she wanted was a room mate, especially a human one.

 She sighed, wishing she could close her eyes and regenerate; it had been a long voyage from Zakaaria, her home world, to this crummy little planet. But she knew that sleep wouldn’t be claiming her any time soon, for her head was still spinning with the effort of processing all the events of the day: first the frustrating search for a safe hiding place for her ship right after her arrival on Earth, then the long and somewhat painful transformation into Human form…not to mention the incredibly tedious task of forging all those documents from the Sun Academy.

Her hand went to her upper right arm, rubbing the spot where the small device was imbedded. As long as the transformer did not disconnect from her body, she could hold her Human form indefinitely. Kami smiled; the technology was perfect. She could be as close to other Humans as she wished and they would never suspect that there was a difference.  Blinking into the darkness, Kami mulled over her task ahead. When Emperor Akaar had asked her to embark on this mission, she had been wary, but of course there was no way to refuse such an important assignment.

It certainly sounded easy enough; find the key to the Abyss of Evil, activate it with the Zakaarian Power Crystal and free the half dozen of the emperor's elite generals that were now stuck down there after this fool Lothor had been defeated by the Power Rangers. Why in the world Emperor Akaar ever even agreed to Lothor's request for military re-enforcements for his final showdown with the Rangers was beyond Kami, but one didn't question the emperor.

The unfamiliar surroundings and strange inhabitants of this planet had irritated her immediately after her arrival, but she had played her role of transfer student from an elusive ninja academy in China expertly and completely bowled over the old head teacher of this school.

 And then _he_ had walked into the room and Kami's entire assignment had suddenly become much more interesting. Cam Watanabe. Her teacher. Kami was still marveling at how he had instantly affected her just with his mere presence. There was a tangible aura of power and authority around him and Kami had always appreciated powerful men. But there were other vibes, too; gentleness, humour, competence...it was intriguing - and attractive. Kami grinned to herself. In a few hours she would begin her quest for the 'key', but she was now also looking quite forward to the training lessons with this very enticing teacher.

 

TBC…


	2. chapter 2

The next morning Cam met his now five students for sunrise meditation at the training plaza. They met there every morning and then usually went somewhere on the grounds for their morning lesson. His four existing students were standing together and Kami was standing off to one side, looking calm but slightly hesitant. It was understandable really; this was a new school and new situation for her. He cleared his throat slightly as he walked towards them, pleased to see their instant reactions to his presence. He introduced Kami to her classmates, and then the small group moved off to one of the smaller training areas and settled down for their meditation exercises, followed by several hours of katana practice and hand-to-hand combat training. By the time lunch came around, Cam had to admit to himself that he was impressed with the level of Kami’s skills. Her student transcripts reflected as much but he was impressed anyway. She had been taught well at the Sun Academy; her sword technique was already at the level of the advanced Samurai class he was teaching, she was quick and agile and had a good strategic eye. A few times she had detected small flaws in his defence and charged at him with the correct attack combination. In short, she definitely had potential, and Cam found himself looking forward to the next lessons. She was going to be one student that he felt would be keeping him on his toes. Cam was eager to see how his teaching skills would be put to the test with her.

 The following few days passed and they all fell into the same routines of meditation, Samurai history lessons and practice. Kami’s eyes were focused on Cam as he demonstrated the last kata exercise for the morning with fluid, graceful movements. She knew she should be watching the rises and falls of his hands and the corresponding movements of his body, but she found it hard to tear her gaze away from his face. His eyes had an almost hypnotizing effect on her and when he smiled she found herself drawn to the soft, gentle gaze. She willed herself to re-focus on his movements. Cam was demonstrating a fast-moving kata that would take both concentration and skill. He pivoted to face them as he finished and her eyes were drawn to the green object that suddenly emerged from under the collar of his uniform. Her breath quickened. The amulet! The very object of her mission, the one thing she had been sent here to find. She had come from a very long way to find the key. That amulet held the key to the trapped generals’ freedoms. And it was in the last place she expected it to be, around Sensei Watanabe’s neck!

 The image was as familiar to her as her own face, for in the past few weeks she had spent hours staring at the computer printout of just that pendant. She swallowed against the lump in her throat as the excitement within her rose, but kept her face carefully composed. Now that she knew where the amulet was, the next question was how to _acquire_ it. Kami allowed herself the briefest of smiles before it was spotted. Her emperor would be pleased to hear of such quick progress. And the fact that the amulet was around the neck of the man who for some reason made her heart skip a beat every time he smiled at her lent an intriguing twist to her mission. Cam finished his kata demonstration, and Kami moved in synchrony with the rest of the class as they practiced his movements a few times. Then Cam dismissed the class for lunch and approached her with a gentle smile on his face. She had been carefully cultivating the beginnings of a friendship with him and the last day or so he had been speaking to her more and more, getting to know her and she had been using that to gain his trust.

“That was a good replication of the kata,” he said approvingly. “You have a good centre, and good balance. You’re really going well with your training in such a short time.”

“Thank you, Sensei, but I still have a long way to go and so much to learn,” Kami answered modestly and lowered her gaze only to look up at him from under long, dark lashes. “Maybe, if you have the time at the moment, we can discuss a few different meditation techniques sometime…” She kept her gaze on him, her eyes showing gentleness and warmth. _Ask me_ , she thought longingly, _Please ask me!_

“Well,” Cam began slowly, wondering where this sudden intense interest in him had come from by Kami, sure, she was attractive and an excellent student but she was a student and there were certain proprieties involved. Her eyes were beautiful, though, and he certainly felt comfortable around her. “Maybe during lunch we could…”

 “Hey.”

 The soft greeting came from off to the side and both Kami and Cam’s heads whipped around at the sound. A tall, young man with a mop of dirty-blonde hair and intense blue eyes was walking towards them from a few feet away. He was unfamiliar to her, but Cam obviously knew him for his face lit up with a gentle grin, his eyes also lighting up with joy. The blonde kept his eyes on Cam, returning the smile as he came to a halt in front of them.

“Hey,” Cam echoed the tall man’s greeting, not looking particularly surprised at his sudden appearance. “You’re just in time. I want you to meet my new Samurai student, Miss Kami Amigosa.”  Kami bowed politely at the introduction. Kami didn’t know who this Ninja was, but his timing was the worst possible that she could imagine. She was sure that he was about to agree to private lessons. It would have been the most perfect opportunity to try and get the amulet, and perhaps, something more, from the good-looking instructor.

“Kami, this is Sensei Bradley, head teacher of the Thunder Academy,” Cam introduced them. Hunter nodded his head in greeting to her.

“Yeah, but I hang around here occasionally.” Cam snorted a slightly lopsided grin on his face.

“Since when does three to four times a week become occasionally?” Hunter gave him a mock-indignant look.

“What? You’re complaining?”

“No, Sensei Bradley, I wouldn’t dare,” Cam grinned openly and Kami was stunned to see such a carefree expression on his face. “Plus, it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.” Hunter returned the grin with his own, lopsided version.

“Damn right about that.” Kami followed the light hearted bantering with a polite smile, but inside she cursed the Thunder teacher’s bad timing. A minute later and she would have been off to lunch with Cam. Now it didn’t look like this was still going to happen. Cam confirmed this notion when he turned to her.

“Kami, let’s do lunch some other time. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, all right?” Kami bowed, not letting her frustration at his dismissal show.

“Yes Sensei.”

 After lunch finished Kami went looking for Sensei Cam. She wanted to try and pin him down for those extra lessons. There was something about Sensei Cam that intrigued her about him but she didn’t know what it was. She rounded a corner and then stopped suddenly, stepping back behind a tree before she was spotted. She watched the scene before her, curious. Sensei Cam and the Thunder Ninja were sparring on the open grass. She watched, entranced by their movements back and forth. They were almost evenly matched. The Thunder Ninja had size, muscle and build on Sensei Cam but Cam was holding his own, using his slight build and speed to his advantage. It was like watching two intricate dancers performing a complex, yet deadly, ballet. Suddenly a soft voice startled her out of her reverie.

“Graceful, aren’t they?” Kami turned sharply to find Sensei Tori Hanson standing next to her, a warm smile on her face, her arms crossed. Kami got control of herself quickly, cursing the fact that she had been snuck up on. She had been that engrossed in watching Sensei Cam that her enhanced senses hadn’t noticed the Water Sensei coming up on her.

“Yes they are, Sensei.” Kami decided that a few gentle probing questions wouldn’t go astray. After all, it was common knowledge around the Academy that Sensei Tori was friends with them all. She was also the most approachable of the Sensei’s around the Academy. She wanted to know all she could about this Thunder Ninja. From Sensei Cam’s reaction when he arrived there was something about this Thunder Ninja. Sensei Tori grinned at Kami.

“Watching these two spar you could be forgiven for thinking that they want to kill each other.” Now Kami was really confused. It did look like they were going all out to kill each other.

“I thought they were friends, Sensei?” Tori nodded as she watched them with Kami.

“Oh, they are Kami, and more than that. But just watching them like this you wouldn’t think so.” Now she was even more confused and some of that must have shown on her face and Sensei Tori smiled at her and continued speaking. “Sensei Watanabe and Sensei Bradley have been friends for a few years now. As they are both Head Teachers of each Academy they work closely together so they have a deep friendship.” Tori didn’t notice the flash of disappointment in Kami’s eyes. Tori looked over at her and Kami controlled herself quickly. Tori patted her on the back and nodded to the other side of the campus. “Anyway, time to get to meditation class Kami.”

“Yes, Sensei Hanson.” Her mask of polite samurai student firmly back in place, she bowed. Sensei Tori moved away and Kami took one last look at how they were interacting together. They looked too comfortable for her liking. She would have to find out exactly what was happening between those two. It looked like they were going to be there for a while. Meditation class could wait; she had some snooping to do.

 

                                    **********************

 

The murky darkness in the hallway of the teacher’s dorm didn’t bother Kami one bit as she made her way down the corridor towards Cam’s door. It was close to eight o’clock in the evening and she had not seen a hair of Cam since she had observed his earlier sparring session with the Thunder Ninja; chances were good, her handsome teacher had not returned yet from wherever he had disappeared to with his mysterious friend. So she had decided to make her move now, for she might not get another chance like this one.

In front of his door she paused, looking back over her shoulder to make sure the hallway was still deserted, then pressed her ear to the wood of Cam’s door. Not a sound could be heard from inside. Nevertheless, she knocked softly; if the unexpected happened and Cam were to open the door, she would feed him some cock and bull story about needing his advice on achieving the ultimate inner peace for meditation practice.

The precaution proved to be unnecessary, for there was no answer to her knock. She waited another few moments before she pulled a slim tube out of her pocket and inserted it into the keyhole. With one click of a button, the device came to life, whirring softly and a moment later, the door latch disengaged. Kami smirked; there was no known lock in existence that a Zakaarian laser-pick couldn’t crack. Quickly she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Cam’s room was indeed deserted. For a brief moment, Kami debated whether to turn on the light, but that might draw the wrong attention. No, this had to be done without the benefit of illumination.

 Should she search his room the old-fashioned _human_ way? But that would take quite some time and expose her to the risk of being surprised by Cam should he return any time soon. And even if he didn’t walk in on her, there was always the danger that Cam would notice that something was out of place in his room; an object on his desk that she hadn’t placed back in the exact same position or a drawer left ajar half an inch – endless possibilities there. No, it would better to conduct the search her way, the Zakaarian way. Kami closed her eyes, producing the image of the amulet until it was crystal clear in her mind. When she opened her eyes again, they glowed a golden yellow and her view of the room was now drastically different. She still saw the outlines of the furniture and all other objects, yet their resolutions were more that of a thermal imaging device. The reason for this was simple; anything worn on Cam’s skin for an extended period of time was now being reflected back to her with a deep green tint, thus eliminating the need for light while at the same time making it quite a bit easier and faster for her to find the amulet, no matter where in the room it was located. The deep green of his essence permeated everything in this room that had come in contact with him. Kami slowly scanned her surroundings. There were a lot of green reflections, mostly clothing, but she eliminated most of them by nature of their shapes. Once she thought she had detected the amulet, but when she opened his desk drawer, it turned out to be just a regular, gold chain necklace.

 No amulet. Cam must be wearing it right now, wherever he was right now. The thought of him still sparring with the Thunder Ninja and doing whatever made her mood even worse. Kami sighed and was about to re-establish her normal sight when she caught a peculiar reflection from Cam’s bed. Curious, she stepped closer and squinted her eyes; it was the normal, green hue of Cam’s presence, but there was something else there…Kami wasn’t surprised that Cam shared his bed with someone – he was a healthy, good-looking human male, after all – but it was the tinge of the second shade that puzzled her. Normally, the psychic imprints of all human bodies appeared to her Zakaarian eyes in one solid colour, namely the colour of their essence – green in Cam’s case for some reason. But this one was tinged with a darker colour within. Her curiosity increased and she concentrated on the colour intonation on the mattress before her until the tint slowly changed and became clearer. _Crimson_. 

 Kami’s brows shot up in a mixture of surprise and anger as the pieces suddenly fell into place in her mind. Before her mental eye she suddenly saw the tall, lanky Thunder Ninja again - and especially the crimson shirt he wore that day. Her head whipped around towards the small sofa next to her and out of its own accord her hand reached out towards the top draped over its back. Long-sleeved, with the number _21_ printed in black across a dark red background. Kami clutched the shirt in her hand, squeezing it so hard that the whites of her knuckles showed. _Him!_ _He_ was Cam’s lover. Not unbelievable, but nevertheless highly inconvenient. Not to mention a huge blow to her ego. She suddenly understood Cam’s reaction to her repeated overtures these past few days; it wasn’t because he had thought it inappropriate for a teacher to get involved with his student – it was that he simply wasn’t interested in her, would never be. At least not as long as there was a certain blond Thunder Ninja around. Kami carefully re-draped the shirt back over the sofa, then straightened up and stuck out her chin, a cruel smile forming at the corners of her mouth; Hunter Bradley had just sealed his own fate.

 

                                    **************************

 

He was there again the next day. Halfway into hand-to-hand combat training, Kami spotted him sitting under a tree a few yards away, silently waiting. Cam must have spotted him, too, for he suddenly seemed eager to wrap up the practice session. Kami couldn’t suppress a scowl as she watched the blonde, lanky form from out of the corner of her eye. A surge of anger ran through her; his presence meant that Cam would once again disappear right after practice and another shot at lunch with him and getting closer to him would be disappearing right along with him. He would more than likely do what he did yesterday; tell them to meditate for the rest of the day. If she meditated much more she would go insane, she was here to do a job. 

Mouthing a silent curse, Kami turned her attention back to her sparring partner. She doubled her efforts of tackling him and throwing him to the ground, irrational anger now spurring her on. The samurai student had no chance; Kami grasped his wrist, smirking at the look of surprise and pain on the young man's face at her crushing grip. She pulled on the wrist at the same time as she turned and angled into him, flipping him effortlessly over her shoulder. The young man was more agile than she had anticipated, however; he promptly rolled over his shoulder and bounced back to his feet in one fluent motion. His hand went to his wrist, rubbing, but before he could make any retorts, Kami was on him again.

 A barely discernible golden hue shimmered around her fist as she slammed it into her sparring partner’s chest. The young man was flung backwards a good six feet as if pulled by invisible strings. Stunned, he lay on the ground, wheezing, and then made the sign of surrender. Kami gave him a condescending glance before her eyes flickered to the blonde man sitting under the tree. To her alarm, the Thunder ninja was looking at her with a quizzical expression. How much had he seen? Kami silently cursed her slip-up; in times of anger, her Zakaarian powers tended to rise to the surface. Normally, she frequently used the aura of power that would surround her as a convenient means of intimidation in battle, but this was a stealth mission; being inconspicuous was of utmost importance. Kami quickly put on her ‘humble student’ mask again and moved to help her partner back to his feet. Hopefully, Cam’s bothersome boyfriend hadn’t seen too much.

 

                                    *********************************

 

A little while later after Cam had dismissed his class, Cam and Hunter were about halfway towards the Wind Academy's communal dining hall when the Thunder ninja decided to bring up the subject of Cam’s latest apprentice. There was just something not right with her and he wanted to get his concerns aired. Turning his head so that Cam could see his smirk, Hunter said,

 “Your new student was totally cruising you yesterday, you know that, right?” Cam’s pace slowed slightly as he returned the gaze with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh please. She was not _cruising_ me, Hunter. She was just being friendly, that’s all.” Hunter kept his voice purposely light.

“Cam, I’ve done my fair share of cruising in my life. I recognize it when I see it.”

“It’s not like you have to worry about anything,” the samurai replied, his eyes studying Hunter carefully, seemingly for signs of tension.

“I don’t, huh? Well, I hope not. How about showing me later just how little I need to worry? Your room or mine?” Hunter teased, leaning close enough for Cam to cast him a warning look. Hunter chuckled, but backed off; knowing that public display of affection was not something Cam liked to engage in. Instead, he settled for lightly fingering the green pendant around Cam’s neck. He was glad to see the samurai wear it more often nowadays. After the team-up with the Dino Rangers for the final battle with Lothor, Cam hadn’t worn the amulet for quite a while, until a lengthy conversation with Hunter had finally convinced him that wearing the amulet around him did not bring back any painful memories of losing the Thunder Ranger powers. Not really expecting Cam to answer his rather rhetorical question of their meeting location, Hunter instead addressed the next question on his mind. Turning his gaze from the pendant once again to Cam’s face, he asked,

“Is your new student taking any elemental powers classes?” Cam blinked at the unexpected turn of topics.

“No, you know samurai don’t learn elemental powers; only ninjas do. Why?” Cam was puzzled by Hunter’s question, he knew Cam was the only samurai taking an element class, only because he needed to get the affiliation as part of his role as Head Teacher.

“Well, then I don’t know where she got hers from, because I saw her using them on her sparring partner today.”

“Impossible,” Cam replied almost immediately, but then cocked his head at Hunter, obviously giving him the benefit of the doubt. “What did you see?”

“Not much,” Hunter had to admit, “but when she threw a punch at her training partner earlier on, I noticed a faint glow around her fist.” Cam's brows drew together in puzzlement, not sure where Hunter’s observations were heading.

“Could it have been a play of the light? Maybe the sun reflecting off her bracers?” Hunter pointedly looked at his own fingerless leather gloves.

“There’s nothing there to reflect from our bracers, Cam. Besides, the poor guy was knocked backwards at least a good six feet. There’s no way this slender girl has so much power in her punch without at least a little… _help_.” He drawled out the last word in emphasis, but Cam’s face remained stubbornly unconvinced. Hunter sighed; he really didn’t want this conversation to go there, but he felt he didn’t have much of a choice. Something about her just screamed wrong to him. He took a calming breath and plunged ahead.

“Cam, how much do you know about Kami?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, who she is?" he elaborated. "Where’s she from? What’s her background?” Cam was beginning to look irritated.

 “She transferred from the Sun Academy.”

Hunter nodded as if he had just received confirmation of a hunch. “That’s only one of the most secretive ninja academies in existence. So it’s not like we can just call over there and verify her story.”

“And why would I even want to do that?” Cam asked stiffly and Hunter could sense his partner’s rising annoyance even more.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me. I’m just saying, maybe she learned some stuff over there. Do you know any of the teachers there?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you think Kami would reveal their names to you if you asked her?” Hunter pressed. Cam gave him an exasperated look.

“She was one of their students, Hunter, so you know as well as me that she is bound to the academy’s code of secrecy.” Hunter knew that but he still he felt he had to press.

“Hm. Pretty convenient for her, don’t you think?” Now Cam’s eyes narrowed as he scowled. “Hunter, what are you trying to say?” The Thunder ninja scratched at the back of his neck before he replied in an attempt to word his next sentence carefully.

“What I’m trying to say is - don't let her fool you. I think she's hiding something. For all I know she could be a spy.” Seeing Cam’s lips parting to speak, Hunter quickly continued. “Just think about it: There have always been female ninjas; it's just that that fact has never been as well known. Matter of fact, women spies and assassins are ancient traditions in many cultures...”

“Hunter, are you listening to yourself?” Cam’s sharp retort stopped Hunter in mid-sentence and the blonde man was alarmed to see his boyfriend looking at him with eyes that suddenly weren’t quite as warm as they used to be. “You've just called her basically everything in the 'Evil Villain Dictionary' when all she is a first-year samurai student!”

“So you think I’m paranoid?”

“You tell me. Are you?”

Their eyes were locked, and Hunter took a deep breath in an attempt to calm the anger that was flaring up inside him.

“Look, I don't want her to be the cause of an argument between us, Cam...”

“ _She_ is not the one causing the argument, Hunter.” Cam’s icy tone was like a slap in the face.

“All I’m saying is that if you watched her a little closer…”

“I _am_ watching her. I watch all my students,” Cam snapped, now clearly on the defensive.

“Apparently not close enough.”

"That's enough, Hunter!" At that, Hunter's mouth snapped shut and Cam saw the blue eyes flashing with hurt before the former Crimson Ranger nodded stiffly. A mask of neutrality settled over his face, but the damage had been done. Cam felt his partner drawing away until he was emotionally as far away as Alaska. Then Hunter straightened his shoulders and abruptly turned towards the direction of the Wind Academy’s entrance portal, his chilly gaze only grazing Cam’s for a moment.

"All right, fine. If you think you have everything under control, then I guess there’s no need for me to hang around here any longer. I need to get back to the Thunder Academy anyways,” he said, his tone now completely void of emotion. Resigned to the fact that lunch was not going to happen anymore, Cam just nodded curtly at him. He hadn’t intended for his last words to come out so sharp, but Hunter’s last claims were downright accusing Cam of incompetence in keeping his students in check and that hurt. He couldn’t bring himself to call out to Hunter as he pulled away, so he merely watched the Thunder ninja stalk down the path towards the holographic entrance until the blond man’s tall form disappeared between the trees. Hunter never looked back.

Neither man saw the slim, shadowy figure slinking back behind a tree trunk, an evil grin on her lovely face.

 

TBC…


	3. chapter 3

Hunter was in a dark mood this morning. His lunch and sparring session with Cam two days ago had put him in a great mood, but yesterday’s argument with Cam had changed that real fast. Yet he was steadfast about his hunch; there was just something about Kami that raised his alarm bells. But Cam had become strangely defensive when he’d questioned him about her background and herself. Was Cam thinking that Hunter was irrationally jealous of his female student? How could he – after what happened two days ago? They had finished sparring and then they’d even managed to sneak away for an hour or so that night from the Academy and done some serious making out. He’d been feeling a little down the last few days as their schedules had kept them apart, but they had made up for that lost time quite enthusiastically. And then the confrontation at lunch time had happened. When he walked away from Cam, Hunter had felt chastised like never before and that feeling did not sit well with him at all.

 He shook his head, pushing away the bad feelings that their heated words had caused and looked around at his half a dozen students for his advanced element class. Hunter always took these in a secluded grove far from the main Academy grounds. Unlike most Ninja element affiliations, Thunder and Lightning tended to be more dangerous to control, which was why only small classes were taught at one time.  Hunter took a deep breath and moved to the centre of the clearing, everyone’s attention suddenly fixing on him.

“Welcome everyone. Now, you’ve all mastered the basic art of controlling your element.” Hunter made sure he made eye contact with each of them. “In this class I will be teaching you the finer points of controlling Thunder and Lightning. We will be practicing harnessing this element and being able to aim it at your opponent. Eventually you will be able to control these elements instinctively and with ease, but that point is a long way off.” Hunter held his hand up, concentrating a moment. Seconds later his fingers danced with electricity as lightning swept in and out of his fingers. “And then, when you’re at my level, you will be able to both control Thunder and Lightning, like this.” And with that, he threw his hand to one side and a bolt of electricity burst from his hand and impacted on a rock, scorching it badly, Thunder booming overhead at the same time. Hunter grinned inwardly as they all flinched. He loved this part of the lessons. As Blake once told him, under that entire pissing people off crap, he was a show-off at heart. Cam had told him more than once or twice he was a teddy bear sometimes as well, especially when it came to his baby brother. Hunter looked at them all, his expression serious. “But at all times remember this. The Thunder element is one of the most difficult disciplines to learn and the most dangerous to master. Control at all times over your emotions is essential. If you lose your focus for just a split second, then you can serious hurt, injure or perhaps even kill someone. And that my students, is the lesson that I will be teaching you.”

The students all looked suitably chastised and subdued and Hunter grinned to himself. Good, listening and common sense were the first lessons he taught them. He nodded to them and began to speak again, starting the lesson.

 Kami watched from the shadows as the Thunder Ninja taught his students how to harness the power of Thunder. This was just the perfect opportunity she had been waiting for. It would be so easy to get rid of this meddlesome Ninja. And then she could begin to work on Cam. She had to get that amulet, and if she could get him as well, then, that would be a bonus. She was careful to mask her presence and the build-up of her own power. She would have to time it carefully. If she didn’t, it would make the others suspicious and she didn’t want that. So, she kept her power crackling at her fingertips but waited and watched. She was patient; she could wait for a long time.

 Hunter was standing behind one of his two female students. He was helping her focus and concentrate on directing her lightning attack. They were aiming at a poor, unoffending tree. They made good target practice and afterwards Hunter was usually able to fix most of the damage done. The advantages of being a head teacher, he had access to differing abilities than his students.

“That’s right, Sarah. Now focus on your hand. Imagine the power at your fingertips; imagine it running along your fingers, tickling them, making them tingle. Now, concentrate of harnessing that power into a ball of energy.” Lightning ran over her fingers and slowly formed into a ball. Hunter nodded and pointed to a tree. “Good, now throw it at the tree. Haul your hand back in a classic first position and then push it forward, like you’re pushing your annoying kid brother out of the way. As your hand gets almost all the way out, release the energy. Now, try it.” She took a deep breath and Hunter stepped back and to one side. “You can do it Sarah. Now focus.” Hunter looked around; the other five students were standing behind him. This was the sort of exercise you did one person at a time. With a deep breath Sarah drew her hand back and then frowning in concentration, she then thrust her hand forward with the grace and fluid movement of a long practiced skill. The lightning ball left her hand and flew towards the tree with unerring precision.

Kami grinned as her moment arrived. The girl’s clumsy attempt at controlling the thunder energy had played right into her hands. The girl grinned when it looked like her shot was going to hit and she momentarily lost focus, and that’s when Kami struck. She reached out mentally and took control of the ball of energy and sent it wildly off course. She watched as Hunter suddenly realised what had happened and acted. He lurched forward and threw Sarah to the ground, shouting over his shoulder as he did so.

“Everyone get down!” He stepped into the middle of the clearing, his hands in front of him as he reached out mentally to control his element. Kami wouldn’t let him, though, and she made the energy fly right at him. He threw himself to one side easily and Kami cursed the energy wobbling slightly as her anger got the better of her for a moment. He sprang to his feet and moved towards it, hands moving in an intricate pattern, calling upon his element as naturally as he would breathe. He moved closer to the edge of the clearing and she saw her chance. Adding her power to it subtly, she aimed the ball of energy at the nearest tree near him. It exploded in a flurry of sparks, fire and noise. One massive tree branch was hanging half torn right above the blond teacher, and through it, Kami saw her chance at finishing him off. That branch needed only a little bit of help. Time, however, was of the essence now and from her jacket pocket, Kami whipped out a small laser weapon, aiming it at the branch. Only a second later, the huge piece of wood cracked and fell. When the dust cleared Hunter was on the ground, out cold, blood streaming from a cut on his forehead and a piece of tree sticking out of his shoulder from the huge branch lying over his chest. His students ran to his side, horror on their faces. She waited a few moments and then jumped down, heading back through the trees. A few moments later she came jogging through the trees, an expression of concern on her face. One of the male students looked up, seeing her there.

“What happened?”

He frowned. “There was an accident with the lesson that Sensei Bradley was giving us on the Thunder element. What are you doing here?” His tone was slightly suspicious. She looked down at Hunter’s unmoving form. He had not been destroyed yet, but it did not look good. And that was all right with her. 

“Sensei Watanabe sent me with a message for Sensei Bradley. But I will return to the Wind Academy and let him know what has happened.” The students made ready to take Hunter to the Thunder Academy. He nodded absently as he gestured for her to help them. As one, they removed the branch off his body. She straightened up and then looked at him as if to say anything else. He just waved her hand at her.

“Thank you for your help. Let Sensei Watanabe know what has happened, he will want to know.”

“I will. I hope he will be okay.” She left and as she began streaking towards the Wind Academy she grinned. Time to put her plan into action to win Cam’s heart for herself.

 

                  ************************************************

 

Several days later, Cam was walking along, listening politely to Kami as she was asking some questions about some technical aspect or other for her sword work. His mind wasn't really focused as it should be, though, his thoughts kept wondering what he had done to cause Hunter to suddenly cut him off like he had. Yes, they had argued, but Cam had called him the next day after what he had thought was enough time for Hunter to cool off. Cam was willing to talk this over again, but Hunter had not picked up his phone. Cam had left a message, but so far had received no call back. This sudden silence from Hunter was disturbing. Cam knew that he should maybe have called again, but after Hunter hadn’t turned up for their prearranged get together on Sunday either, he’d gotten annoyed and irrationally decided not to call him. Hindsight made him realise that perhaps lack of sleep and intense element studies had probably contributed to his irritation. Keeping a sigh to himself, he tried to concentrate on Kami’s words. Suddenly his attention was grabbed by a shout from behind him.  
"Hey Cam, wait up!" Cam looked at Kami and gave her a tiny wry smile.  
"I believe Sensei Brooks wants my attention. Please excuse me a moment." He walked a few steps towards Dustin as the Earth Ninja jogged down the path, Kami unobtrusively inched closer.

“Hey Cam. You know dude, you’re a hard person to catch." Cam stopped and crossed his arms, really in no mood to deal with Dustin's exuberance. He was too preoccupied by his own problems with Hunter.

"Yes I know, I’ve been really busy. What is it, Dustin?" Dustin wasn't fazed by Cam's attitude; he was used to it by now. "I just wanted to tell you when you go see Hunter at the Thunder Academy hospital I hope he's feeling better and I've taken care of his race entries for him."

Cam was stunned. What did Dustin just say? His heart almost stopped in his chest and he reached out, grabbing Dustin’s arms with a shaking hand, his voice tight.  
"What are you talking about, Dustin? What do you mean Hunter's at the Thunder Hospital?" Dustin looked surprised.  
"Dude, didn't you get told? There was an accident in the woods during elementals training. Hunter got hurt really badly when a huge tree branch fell on him. Dislocated his shoulder and caused a minor wound that needed a couple of stitches. Blake says he's going to be out later this week but he's really banged up." Dustin cocked his head, giving Cam a quizzical look, tinged with a hint of disapproval. "He's been in the infirmary for the past three days, Cam." Cam had gone white. He felt his stomach lurch and fear reach up and take a hold of his heart. Hunter had been hurt and he hadn't been told. What was going on here? A part of him realised this was the explanation for Hunter’s sudden silence and non-appearance on Sunday.  
"Dustin, I wasn't told."

Dustin frowned. "Dude, that's weird. The Thunder students told Blake and Hunter that the new Samurai chick of yours was nearby and said she'd carry the message to you." Cam whirled but Kami had gone.

 _Time to deal with her later, first he had to see Hunter_. He looked at Dustin.  
"Thanks for telling me, Dustin. Tell Dad I've gone to the Thunder Academy." And with that, he streaked away, panic warring with remorse in his mind. How he could think that Hunter would dump him like that he never knew, he vowed to himself to make it up to Hunter in more ways than one.

 

                                                ****************

 

Hunter slowly made his way through the dense underbrush of the forest. Less than half an hour into his trek and already he could feel a headache coming on – not to mention that he was already breathing heavier than he normally would. He stepped over a rotting tree trunk, rubbing his left shoulder. The tight bandages had only been removed this morning and consequently, his shoulder was awfully stiff and achy. And the fact that the painkiller the physician had given him a few hours ago was slowly wearing off only added to the discomfort. _Should have stayed in bed for another day but Blake always said I’m the stubborn one._

But he had been brooding about the supposed accident ever since he had regained consciousness, a nagging feeling in the back of his head that just wouldn’t let up. Blake had told him not to worry about, wait until he was better to go check things about but the feeling wouldn’t let up. The confusing and often contradictory recollections of his five students about what had happened in the woods had left him with more questions than anything; especially disturbing was when one of his ninjas suddenly, and almost as an afterthought, mentioned that right after Hunter got knocked out, a female samurai student appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Shocked and worried like the rest of the Thunder ninjas, she had helped with getting the large tree branch off him and then announced that she would report the accident to Sensei Watanabe right away. Hunter only knew one female samurai student, but what in the world she had been doing in the forest at that time was a mystery to him. Problem was that the longer he mulled over this, the stronger a very disturbing possibility wormed its way into his mind.  That, and the fact that Cam hadn’t been to see him even once, was enough to drive him out of bed lest he was sure to go crazy.

 _Cam_. Not much he could do about his partner’s apparent disinterest in his well-being - but it hurt, hurt more than all his physical injuries combined. Unless Cam never even found out what had happened. Considering whom the samurai student was that was supposed to recount the incident. Hunter’s mouth formed into a tight line as things began to fall into place for him. It was high time for another talk with Cam about her, but first things first. First he needed to check up on his hunch. Then he would pay a visit to the Wind Academy and get some much-wanted answers.

He arrived at the small clearing a few moments later. The massive tree branch that had hit him lay where it had been tossed three days ago and he headed right for it. Crouched down, Hunter turned the branch around to inspect it from all sides, paying particular attention to all the visible scorch marks, absently frowning as he did so.

Power of lightning was a natural element, and nothing in nature came in exact geometrical patterns. This was especially true of electricity and Hunter was very familiar with the visual marks of his element. If this branch had been hit by lightning, the wood would be torn, large chips of bark would have been ripped off and at the point of direct impact, and the wood would be deeply scorched by jagged burn marks. But the burns he was looking at right now were too linear to be natural, more like they were made by a precision weapon such as a laser, which he was familiar with due to having seen it a few times from Lothor’s goons. He carefully put the branch back down, unable to take his eyes off it as his suspicions were confirmed.

_This had been no accident._

Hunter sat back on his haunches, his mind racing. During the elemental exercise, every one of his students had been in his direct line of vision; consequently he would have noticed it at once if one of them had pulled out a weapon, no matter how sneakily. His self-preservation instinct was that well honed, he would have known. He was about to pick up the branch once again when he felt a prickling along the back of his neck, his sixth sense he’d learned to trust over the years. Someone was watching him. He remained crouched for a moment, listening, before he stood slowly and seemingly casual. His eyes, however, quickly and effectively scanned his entire immediate area.

"Who's there?"

For a long moment, there was no answer, no movement - almost as if the forest itself had stopped breathing. Then a familiar figure stepped out from behind the trunk of a massive pine tree.

"Sensei Bradley," Kami said softly, "Just who I was looking for."

Hunter peered at her with narrowed eyes. "What a coincidence, because you are just the one I wanted to ask a few questions."

She cocked her head. "Is that so?" she asked smoothly. "What questions?" While she spoke she stepped away from the tree, moving slowly into the small clearing. She looked as petite and unthreatening in her black samurai training uniform as the last time he had seen her, but Hunter kept his eyes on her nevertheless.

"My students told me that you just happened to come by here right after that big ol' branch fell on me. Coincidence?"

"It seems so, doesn't it?" she said nonchalantly.

"What were you doing in the forest at that time?" Hunter’s eyes never left her as she prowled around the clearing.

"Coming to see you at the Thunder Academy," she replied readily. "To sort out our differences."

Hunter looked at her intently for a moment, his expression hardening.

"I think that's bullshit."

The innocent smile vanished from Kami's face as if someone had flipped a switch. Her demeanor changed visibly as her expression hardened and when she spoke this time, her voice was stony.

"I should have properly disposed of you three days ago. It was a mistake to trust that you would simply succumb to your wounds."

Hunter glowered at her. "So lemme guess: Now you're here to rectify that mistake?" In lieu of an answer, Kami's mouth turned upwards as she came closer and Hunter could see the danger in her eyes - just before they started to briefly glow golden yellow. He instinctively went into defensive stance.

“Who are you really?” Hunter snapped. “Or maybe I should say _what_ are you?” Kami snorted disdainfully.

“Not that you or anyone on your pathetic planet in this backwater galaxy would know anything about the Zakaarian empire, so I won’t even waste any time explaining my origins to you. All you need to know is that I am here to complete a mission and that I have every intention of carrying it out quickly and flawlessly.” She never stopped walking as she spoke, and Hunter noticed how centered and deliberate her movements were. She was poised, ready for confrontation.

He kept his gaze on her face. “Is Cam the object of your mission?”

Kami surprised him when she emitted a soft laugh, and the sound was disconcertingly pleasant. “No, he is only connected to a vital object of my mission. But now that I have gotten to know him better, I admit that he has become a most intriguing bonus for me.”

“If you so much as touch him...” Hunter growled, intoning each word carefully as concern for his boyfriend supplanted his anger, but Kami simply snickered.

“Oh, I intend to do much more than touching. In the weeks to come he will need quite a bit of comforting, and by the time his period of mourning is over I’ll be indispensable to him.” Her voice was low and silky, but the underlying danger could not be missed. Hunter glared at her furiously.

“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.” The smug expression on Kami’s face only intensified.

“On the contrary, Thunder Ninja. I’m my emperor’s best warrior. I’ve disposed of men three times your size…and ego.” The alien woman was now only a few feet away from him and every trace of the humble, polite samurai student was now wiped away. Hunter sensed the truth behind her words. He was facing a warrior he couldn’t afford to underestimate. Nevertheless, he also couldn’t afford to let her see the effects of her words on his face. Battles were waged as much with the mind as with the body. They slowly circled each other, fists raised.

“Is that so?” He said, seemingly unimpressed, and nodded over his shoulder towards the path to the Thunder Academy. “Well, a few minutes down that way is the Thunder Academy, and guess what? I’m _their_ best warrior.” Kami raised her eyebrows, her voice dripping with condescension. “Then let’s hope they’ve already picked out your successor.”

She attacked him with such blinding speed that Hunter barely had the time to throw up his arm to deflect a lethal kick to the head and ended up taking a knee in the chest instead. He blocked several of her punches, but he realized instantly that she possessed almost inhuman strength. _Well, she pretty much did reveal just a moment ago that she wasn’t human…_ Hunter didn’t finish his thought as he focused his entire attention on dishing out some punches of his own; he needed to get into a better offensive position, but Kami seemed to know that for she stuck close to him, pummeling every part of his body he didn’t manage to cover. This wasn’t working; he needed to change tactics.

Kami threw another punch towards his injured shoulder, but instead of blocking it, Hunter snatched her wrist, pulling her closer until they were locked in a tight embrace. He saw the momentary confusion in her eyes and took advantage of it. He let himself fall backwards, got a knee in between them and used it to flip her over his body. This also gave him enough momentum to roll over his good shoulder in the same motion, shooting back up to his feet. Kami was back on her feet almost instantly as well, but now there was enough distance between them for Hunter to deliver a spinning kick towards her head. It caught her on the shoulder, but she managed to stay upright. She hissed in pain and the snarl that formed on her face was entirely predatory, effectively wiping the last traces of feminine beauty off her face.

Suddenly, she shook both of her wrists several times and before Hunter could wonder about those odd gestures, she came at him again. She feigned a kick to his left hip only to swing a lightning-quick fist at his face at the same time. Anybody else would have hesitated half a second, but Hunter’s reflexes had been honed by a lifetime of ninja training, a year of being a Power Ranger and several months of teaching. Yet even so, he pulled his head back just a fraction of a second too slowly and Kami’s gloved fist grazed his cheekbone. A sharp pain tore through his cheek and he yelped in surprise and pain. Automatically, his hand came up to touch his skin, and his fingers came away bloody. Across from him, Kami gave a short laugh, raised her fists again and Hunter could see that the knuckles of her fingerless samurai gloves were now studded with sharp spikes.

The question of her strange wrist shaking had just answered itself. Hunter growled deep in his throat. _That did it._ Not holding back any longer, Hunter charged at her with a combination of relentless kicks and punches. They were evenly matched for a while, but after a few minutes, and despite Hunter’s still-sore shoulder, his endurance slowly gained him the upper hand. He took his opportunity when Kami’s concentration slipped for a second and put a well-placed boot right into her ribs. The alien warrior stumbled backwards a few steps, grimacing in pain. They watched each other across several yards' distance, both breathing heavily, but Kami's respiration was distinctly more ragged. Ignoring the pain in her ribs, she drew herself up to her full height, throwing Hunter a glare of black rage.

 "Enough playing," she hissed "Time to finish this!" With that she raised her arms over her head, her lips mouthing silent words. Hunter hesitated for a second, unsure as to what to make of her gesture. When he realized only a moment later what she was doing, it was already too late. Kami's hands as well as her eyes suddenly began to glow a dull yellow and with a high-pitched cry she thrust her wrists at him. Twin beams of yellow energy erupted from her hands and Hunter had no chance to dodge them. The impact was brutal, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into the trunk of a tree a few yards behind him with a ferocity that left him barely conscious. A second later he was facedown on the ground, dazed and hurt, fighting against the darkness closing in on him. Hands gripped the back of his jacket, and he couldn't bite back a groan as Kami flipped him roughly onto his back. The cold steel of her glove spikes pressed into his larynx, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to keep him immobilized and barely breathing. Through the pounding in his head he heard her voice.

"Chivalrous fool. You should have used your elemental powers."

"Like you did?" he croaked contemptuously. Kami barked a harsh laugh.

"All's fair in love and war, Thunder." With her free hand, Kami suddenly reached out and ripped open the velcro closures of his uniform jacket. "Now, nice and easy, pull your arms out of your jacket sleeves," she commanded. "But no tricks. Believe me; you wouldn't have the breath to carry them out." Hunter remained motionless and Kami pressed the spikes into his throat just a little firmer to emphasize her words. “Do it!” Hunter had no choice but to comply; he slowly and cumbersomely peeled himself out of his jacket while still flat on his back, wondering where she was going with this. Without taking her gloved hand from his throat, Kami reached into an inner pocket of her uniform and produced a small, rectangular device. Never breaking eye contact with him, she depressed several buttons, and at once, the air around them stirred, taking on a dense, electrical quality not unlike at the beginning of a powerful thunderstorm. Out of the periphery of his vision Hunter saw movement, a circular swirl of anthracite energy that was rapidly growing bigger and fear began to grip his stomach. _A portal of some sort…_

 TBC…


	4. chapter 4

Cam hurried through the forest at a reckless speed. A few minutes ago, he had arrived at the Thunder Academy’s infirmary, only to be informed that Sensei Bradley had checked himself out about an hour earlier against his physician’s advice. When Cam had asked the doctor whether he knew where Hunter was headed, he was told that their head teacher had mumbled something about ‘checking out the accident scene’. Cam was given directions and had turned to go, but the doctor’s parting words had made him stop in his tracks. _”Strange that Sensei Bradley has had hardly any visitors since he was brought in and suddenly, two on the same day, and you both missed him.”_  

His curiosity piqued, Cam had asked about the other visitor and the moment the Thunder Academy physician had described the mysterious female visitor that had arrived literally minutes before he had, Cam knew it was Kami. But what was she doing here? Why was she asking after Hunter? She had obviously hurried here to get to the infirmary before Cam, and that worried him. And why had she never told him about Hunter’s accident in the first place? Things weren’t adding up for him and his fear was growing as he sped deeper into the forest.

 He didn’t think for one moment that she had simply forgotten to pass the message on.

Suddenly, Hunter’s earlier assessment of her didn’t seem so far-fetched at all anymore. Cam mentally kicked himself for dismissing his partner’s concerns so quickly as jealousy. A dark premonition as well as concern for Hunter drove him on as he leapt over a gurgling brook towards the accident site the physician had mapped out for him. He knew it vaguely as Hunter told him once how he took his advanced students there for element training. Streaking through such dense woods was too risky, so Cam simply ran, although at the speed he was going, the alternating bands of sunlight and shade between the trees had an almost strobe-like effect on his vision. But he was still quite a distance away and although he didn’t know what to expect once he got there, he hoped he wasn’t too late for… _whatever_.

 

                                    *****************

 

When the slate-coloured portal was about six feet across, Kami apparently deemed it ready for she grabbed Hunter by the front of his crimson t-shirt and hurled him to his feet. The Thunder ninja’s head felt like it was going to explode from the sudden motion. He also couldn’t help but cough once the pressure on his windpipe suddenly eased off.

 A blurry movement and Kami was now behind him, yanking his arms onto his back and holding them in place with a vice-like grip. She leaned over his shoulder, whispering in his ear,

“By tomorrow, just about every Wind and Thunder ninja will be looking for you, Sensei Bradley, and I’ll make sure that all they’ll find is your torn jacket hanging from a branch halfway down the cliff by the edge of the forest. Maybe I’ll even sprinkle some blood over it for a better effect.” All this she murmured in his ear with the silky voice a lover would use to whisper endearments to her boyfriend. It sent a cold shiver down Hunter’s spine. Her hold around his wrists tightened, making him cringe as she nudged him forward. “Let’s go. It’s time for a little trip.”

 Hunter threw his head back, felt it connect with her forehead and used the moment of surprise to try to wrestle his wrists free of her hold. He felt her grip loosen, but before he could turn to throw a punch he was suddenly and unmercifully brought down to one knee by a blinding pain shooting through his injured shoulder. It felt like his shoulder was being torn out of its socket. He cried out, his eyes involuntarily watering from the agony. Aware of his only half-healed injury, Kami had brutally yanked his shoulder up and backwards and his still healing muscles screamed in protest.

An instant later, Kami had his wrists firmly back in her hold.

“Bad move, Human,” she hissed, all traces of her silky voice gone. “Now I’m of a mind to break your shoulder before I throw you through the portal, but damaged you wouldn’t last a minute in there and that would deprive me of some of my fun, so you’re lucky.”  With that, she pulled him back to his feet and towards the portal

 

                                     ****************

 

Cam’s head jerked up as he heard Hunter’s cry. He’d heard that often enough when they were Rangers to know it instinctively. His heart leapt to his throat as he heard the cry, and throwing caution to the wind he began to streak towards the training grounds. What he saw when he got there made his blood freeze as he came to a sudden halt.

There was a grey, swirling all too familiar portal in the air just in front of Hunter, and Kami had Hunter in some sort of hold and was pushing him towards it. Cam couldn’t believe his eyes but he just reacted. Hunter was in danger and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to him if he could help it.

“Kami, let him go.” Cam raced forward, coming closer to them both.

 Kami whirled around, dragging Hunter with her, her expression almost animalistic as she realised her entire plan to win Cam over had just crumbled to dust. The loathing in his eyes for her had just completely ruined her plans.

“No! If I can’t have you, no one will! This Thunder Ninja will never grace the face of this planet again!” Cam’s eyes meet Hunters, seeing love and fear in them, and Cam knew that the same was reflected in his. Suddenly, Kami dragged Hunter back around and as Cam raced towards them; he instinctively knew he’d be too late.  With a shove that caused Hunter to call out in pain from his injured shoulder, he was thrown through the portal.

“Hunter!” Cam’s heart froze in his chest and without thinking, he attacked her. Her slight inattention as she threw Hunter into the portal was the opening he needed and she fell back, falling into a defensive pattern.

 Cam hadn’t taught her all his tricks and he soon had the upper hand. But out of the corner of his eye he could see the portal slowly closing. Torn between wanting revenge against the attack against Hunter or saving him, he chose to save him. He flipped backwards twice, landing near the portal. Kami glared at him, reaching into her pocket and taking out a device. She growled, her gentle voice nothing more than a harsh guttural sound now.

“You’ll never save him, Wantabe. The dimension I have sent him to has no escape.” She held the device. “Without this, you’ll never free him. Now, I might be inclined to give you this control for something in return.” Cam refrained from stating the obvious; there was nothing he would give her. He’d learnt his lesson from facing his Uncle. And beside, Hunter would never forgive him for doing anything for anyone evil.

“I will never give you anything that you want.”

“Not even to save your precious Thunder Ninja?” Cam didn’t answer and she just grinned evilly at him. “If you give me the Amulet, I’ll give you the remote.” Cam blinked in surprise. _The Amulet? Why would she want that, of all things?_ Cam shook his head.

“No.”

Kami held up the remote. “Last chance. You are running out of time here, and so do I. I have business to conduct on this planet and the amulet is a vital part of it. Now hand it over!” Cam was torn and glanced to one side. The portal was closing, it was only about a metre across now and closing fast. He had to make his choice. Growling as he knew he didn’t have one, he relaxed from his fighting stance and reached up to take the Amulet from around his neck. Suddenly, an idea, desperate as it was, occurred to him.

 He held the Amulet out to her, readying himself as he did so. He’d have to time this so carefully. Kami reached with one hand and the Amulet began floating towards her.

“You’ve got what you want, give me the remote.” Kami just laughed, sending shivers up Cam’s spine and bringing back bad memories.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think so. My competition for your affections is gone, and with some of my powers, he’ll soon be a distant memory of yours. And then not only will I have completed my mission, I’ll have the perk of having you by my side.” Cam knew that he’d have to act now otherwise he’d loose his chance to save Hunter and keep his Amulet.

“I don’t think so, Kami. The Amulet belonged to my mother, and Hunter has my heart. You have nothing, except failure.” And with that, Cam acted.

 Reaching out with his hands, reminiscent of a certain Red Wind Ranger, suddenly the Amulet flew back to his hands and he tried to rip the remote from her hands. She cried out in surprise and anguish but just managed to keep her hold on the remote, not realising that Cam was able to do this. As Head Teacher of the Wind Academy and a Samurai, Cam could do many things most ordinary Senseis couldn’t do. His hand closed around the Amulet, feeling its familiar presence, even though it wasn’t empowered anymore. He stared hard at her before he began moving towards the portal, hoping to stop it closing before she could react. But she reacted faster than he thought and threw her hands out towards him, catching him with yellow beams of energy that caught him off guard and suddenly he was thrown backwards, his world suddenly filling with swirls of purple and grey energy.

 

                                      *************************

 

Hunter couldn't stifle a cry as he sailed through purplish air, but the fall was shorter than expected. He was fortunate to land on his good shoulder, but the impact with the hard ground nevertheless knocked the wind out of him. He rolled onto his back, gasping, eyes closed as he tried to get his breath back quickly. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was  
mist. It seemed to envelope him, curling around his body and obscuring the view of the ground he lay on. He scrambled to his feet, instinctively putting up his fists as he turned in a circle, surveying his surroundings.

To say that it was dreary was an understatement; a grey, twilight-like darkness was all around him. There was no sun, but some light source filtered through the low-hanging, anthracite clouds in the slate-coloured sky and he could make out vague shapes that seemed to be predominantly boulders and tree stumps. Through some breaks in the mist on the ground he spotted pools of stagnant, black water. _A swamp of some kind..._ There was no sign of the portal he had come though, no doorway of any kind nor any visible way out, and suddenly, dread gripped Hunter's chest with an iron fist. _CAM_ _! He was still out there somewhere, with that woman - no, that THING!_ Hunter yelled his partner's name out loud. A faint echo of his own voice was his only answer.

"Crap!" he muttered to himself. "Can this day get any worse?"

Other than the lazy rolling of the mist at his feet, the only other movement anywhere were brief flashes of lightning, accompanied by faint thunder somewhere in the distance.  Hunter, however, sensed instinctively that he was not alone, and belatedly he realized that yelling Cam's name might not have been the brightest idea. Who knows what might already be coming this way by now.

Suddenly, the air several feet above him moved. A purple vortex appeared, spinning wildly, and a moment later a familiar body was flying towards him. Cam dropped to the ground, rolled over his shoulder and leapt back up in one smooth motion. The vortex disappeared again before the samurai even reached the ground. Cam was at Hunter’s side and gripped Hunter's arm, dark eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

The Thunder ninja met his gaze. "Yeah, I'll be all right."

"Hunter, listen, I had no idea you were in the hospital..." Hunter waved it off.

"Don't worry about it, I figured that much as soon as I found out that _she_ had shown up at the accident site."

"This wasn't an accident, was it?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Hunter shook his head anyway.

"No."

Cam's gaze dropped to the ground. "God, I can't believe I fell for her ruse..." Hunter put a firm hand on Cam's shoulder; he could clearly see the guilt in Cam’s eyes.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it, okay? She tricked us both. Let's first find a way out of here, and then we can deal with her." Suddenly Cam couldn’t help it; he pulled Hunter into a gentle hug. They stood there, holding each other for what felt like ages when finally Cam gave a soft sigh and released his strangle hold on Hunter, but he didn’t take his hands off Hunter’s arms.

“Just how were you hurt?” Hunter saw the concern and love in Cam’s eyes in the dim light and suddenly he knew in his heart that Cam’s absence wasn’t deliberate, he really and truly hadn’t known.

 “I was taking my Advanced Element class. Sarah was attempting her first use of harnessing the power of Lightning as a weapon and she threw a bolt at a tree. Somehow, it slipped her control and bounced around the clearing like it was after me or something. I was unable to control it and then next thing I knew was that there was an explosion and I woke two days later in the Academy’s infirmary.” Hunter paused and frowned. “The students all had varying accounts but the one thing they all agreed on was a few moments after the accident, Kami showed up, asking what was going on and saying she’d tell you that I was hurt. When I left the Thunder infirmary I went back to the clearing. I examined the branch it was quite clear that it hadn’t been damaged by only an elemental blast.” Hunter looked at Cam, knowing that if their relationship was to continue, he’d have to be honest with Cam. “I’ll be honest, Cam. Not finding you by my side when I woke up, that hurt. And then the silence from you for the rest of this week, that really hurt.”

 Cam stared at Hunter, knowing how he felt. Cam nodded and sighed softly.

“I thought you weren’t talking to me because of our disagreement about _her._ She practically never left my side these past few days when I wasn’t teaching. I should have figured something was going on. She did everything she could to try and separate us, didn’t she? If it wasn’t for Dustin, she might have succeeded.” Cam raised his hand, which was still gripping the samurai amulet. He slipped the pendant around his neck, and then carefully touched the skin around Hunter's injured cheek. The blood from the cut had coagulated and needed cleaning and disinfecting. "First we have to take care of this." He looked around, but the stagnant swamp water all around them clearly could not be used for that purpose. Cam motioned for Hunter to sit on a tree stump; then pulled out his shirt tail to dab at the wound with it as best as he could. It was pathetically inadequate, but it was all they had. Hunter patiently sat through the ministration, trying not to flinch. Cam had a gentle touch, sometimes, but if you did something stupid in battle or class, he wasn’t that gentle. Sometimes Hunter didn’t know what was worse, Cam’s ministrations or his sarcastic remarks while he was patching you up. Hunter finally broke the silence.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd be so embarrassed right now that I got beat by a girl," the blonde ninja said, grinning weakly, but a too-deep swab from Cam's caused a sudden flash of pain that burned the grin off his face.

"Sorry!"

" 's okay."

"She's probably not even a girl," Cam growled. "Who knows _what_ she is." The samurai suddenly paused, staring at his partner's wound with blazing eyes. "When I get my hands on her..."

"Yeah, well, before you can do that, we gotta find a way out of here," Hunter said. "And then you'll have to take a number and get in line, 'cause I get first pick on her." The ex-Crimson Ranger curled his hand into a fist. Cam stayed silent, tending the wound for a few more moments until there was nothing else more to do for it. Then he slumped down next to his partner on  
the log.

"So, are we...cool?" he asked, deliberately using one of Hunter's preferred words.

Hunter smiled. "Yeah, we're cool." They hugged again, a quick, comforting embrace, then rose and set out, carefully treading their way through the swirling bottom mist to find a way out of their precarious situation.

 

 

                                          ***********************

 

Kami growled in frustration and anger. Cam had taken her completely by surprise with his mastery of the Air element. No Amulet and a slightly damaged remote to gain access to the portal through to the dimension she had sent them to. Shaking her head at her underestimation of the Samurai teacher she put away the remote in her pocket and then she shook her hands, the spikes disappearing. Looking around one last time she took off at a jog towards where she had hidden her ship. She would have to repair the remote to access to the portal and then she could go into that dimension, finish them both off and get the Amulet finally.

 She jogged quickly through the forest, ignoring the beautiful surroundings and sounds of the local fauna. The whole planet was too green for her tastes, but she supposed that the Humans liked it. She was just eager to complete her mission and get back home. If she completed the mission quickly and returned home triumphant with the Amulet and the lost Generals, then perhaps the Emperor would finally let her have some time for herself, or even let her out of duties entirely. But she couldn’t focus on that now; she had to focus on getting the Amulet, and paying back a certain Thunder Ninja.

 

                                      *****************

 

Cam sighed as he leaned against Hunter. They had examined the small area around the swamp and had come up with nothing. The only thing in this place was a soft glow, the dry thunder and lightning in the distance, a dank swamp and themselves. He and Hunter were currently sitting back to back next to the log, keeping watch as they knew that any moment now Kami could be coming to get them. They had both been trying to sense anything about this dimension but both weren’t having much luck.

"Not exactly Fiji, is it?"

"You can say that again," Cam murmured, his eyes never wavering from scanning the area. The swamp all around them seemed to be going on and on. Nothing but rank water, dead and defoliated trees and that thin, ghostly mist for as far as the eye could see. There was no breeze, but the air itself seemed to be whispering, an incessant ebb and flow of unintelligible susurrations that seemed to follow them. It was a plain out creepy place.

"I wonder what time it is," Cam thought out loud and Hunter shrugged.

"Saturday."

Hunter could hear Cam’s chuckle behind him. It didn’t cheer him up. He expanded his senses some more to their surroundings, but he felt nothing whatsoever.

“So…nothing?” he asked Cam without much hope.

“Not a thing. This dimension has got no windows, doors, exits or anything of any kind. Just that there’s this strange soft glow; that misty fog and a stinky swamp.” Hunter gave a soft smile, one that he knew Cam would sense in the dark, as his voice was warm.

“In other words, you have no idea where we are and how we’re getting out of here.” There was a pause from Cam and then another soft sign as he leaned his head back against Hunter’s head.

“Yes. I have no idea and it’s frustrating as hell.” Hunter gave a soft laugh and a comfortable silence fell between them. Cam took his Amulet out. He studied it for a while, holding it in his hand. It was warm and he could feel the connection to it once more, like he did when it was fully powered. The only times it had felt warm was when he had been feeling happy or something good had happened to him.

“Well, I know you Cam and you’ll figure something out, eventually.” Cam smiled at Hunter’s words.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Hunter grinned.  
”Anytime.” Cam grinned back, even though they were sitting back to back they knew each other well enough to know what each was doing.

 Silence fell again between them and after a long moment Cam lowered his head slightly, staring at the Amulet once more. He knew he had to say what was in his heart. He had to clear the air between them both.

“Hunter, I owe you an apology.” Hunter frowned, cocking his head sideways slightly.

“What for, Cam?” Cam sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“For having doubts about you and your feelings. For doubting us as a couple. For thinking that you could ever just cut me off like I thought you did. I’m sorry, so sorry for even thinking that. This has been a strange experience for me and this is the first time I’ve ever felt this way about anyone. I mean, I love my Father, and loved my Mother. But I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you, Hunter and it frightens me sometimes.” Cam’s voice was soft but sure. Hunter jerked his head up as he took in Cam’s words. Cam loved him? Hunter turned around to face Cam, his own face surprised but it was a good surprise. Cam had turned to face him as well.

”You love me?” Cam looked him in the eyes and suddenly knew that in his heart of hearts, he did love Hunter, even though they had never said it before now. Cam nodded and smiled a tiny smile.

“Yes, I love you, strange as that may seem.” Hunter was touched to the core and reaching up, he cupped his hand against Cam’s cheek.

“I love you too, Cam. I never thought that you felt the same way and you don’t owe me an apology. Things were made difficult by her, but they are okay now, right?” Cam nodded.

“Never better, Hunter.” Hunter smiled and leaned over, pressing his lips against Cam’s again. His heart soared with Cam’s declaration and for a moment, just a moment, he allowed himself to forget everything that had happened and just feel joy at being in Cam’s presence. Cam deepened the kiss and pulled Hunter closer, wrapping his arms around him. Hunter wrapped his arms around Cam as well. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few moments they broke apart and Cam rested his head against Hunter’s.

“I love you.” Hunter’s heart soared even higher.

“I love you.” Cam smiled gently at him, his own heart soaring in joy.

“Now that we’ve got that sorted out, let’s get the hell out of here, Hunter. Because I intend to explore these new feelings of ours completely when we get back home.” Hunter raised his eyebrow at this more forceful and in control of his feelings Cam. But it was a good thing and he found he didn’t mind one bit. He grinned.

“Oh, I like that idea. Come on, let’s find our way home.”

 

TBC…


	5. chapter 5

Slumped in the pilot's seat of her ship's cockpit, Kami impatiently drummed her fingers on the computer console while she waited for the ship's regenerator to fix the damage done to the portal remote. For the umpteenth time she cursed her rotten luck; she still couldn't believe how things could have taken such a turn for the worse. First the bloody Thunder Ninja actually _recovered_ rather than succumb to his injuries. At least the battle with him had gone well, but then Cam, of all people, had shown up. Curse his timing! Anyone else she could have just disposed of as well. Now they were both stuck in the other dimension and were doubtlessly exchanging information about her right this very minute. Which meant that any chances she might have had with Cam were definitely shot to hell now.

Kami sighed expansively. It would have been nice. She had never had a Human male before and he definitely had been intriguing. Cam and Kami. Even the names had sounded harmonious. Like it was meant to be.

But Kami was nothing if not realistic, so with a final shrug she disposed of any lingering feelings of attachment. She was here to do a job and she had every intention of returning to Zakaaria with her head held high in victory and every one of the freed generals of her emperor's army in tow.

A soft beep cut through her thoughts. The repairs were complete. Kami stabbed a button and the fixed device was ejected from the regeneration machine.

She rose from her seat, tucked the remote back into her pocket and squared her shoulders. Time to finish this!

 

                                ************************

 

A stirring of the air above them alerted Cam and Hunter to the approaching presence a moment before the grey/purple vortex re-appeared. They shot to their feet and immediately fell into defensive positions as the slim form of Kami appeared through the portal - which immediately closed behind her again.

"Well, it _was_ getting a little boring..." Cam quipped dryly.

Hunter pointed at Kami with his chin. "Hey, did you bring our McDonald's order? We're getting kinda hungry in here."

Kami threw him a disdainful glance. "You will soon be much hungrier. There is nothing edible around here and I wouldn't advise drinking the water here, either."

She then transferred her gaze to Cam, staring at him across the short distance of uncheerful surroundings between them. "I've come for the amulet."

Cam pointedly ignored her request. "Just exactly where is _'here_ '?" he demanded to know. "What is this place?"

"You're inside a specially created subspace dimension, bestowed upon me by Emperor Akaar himself for some very valuable services I have rendered to him in the past." Kami chuckled and waived her arms in an encompassing gesture. "Do you like it? Everything you see in here - and everything you haven't seen yet - _I_ created. It's my own personal playground." She re-directed her gaze towards Hunter. "I told you I was the emperor's best warrior and the elite gets rewarded in abundance. I can't even begin to imagine what riches are awaiting me once I have used the amulet to open the Abyss of Evil and freed the Emperor's generals."

Cam and Hunter exchanged a pointed look as understanding dawned on them at last. Hunter had told Cam earlier that Kami spoke about a 'mission' during their fight. Now they finally knew the details of that assignment. Cam was itching to ask more questions, but Kami was already speaking again.

"You were a fool to come after him," she said and gave a snidely jerk of her head into Hunter's direction. Her gaze, however, remained on Cam and that look was turning intense. "You have no idea what you are missing, Cam. I could give you everything you need. I could make you feel things you’ve never felt before…" Her voice turned silky as she took one step towards the samurai. "But I'm giving you one last chance, Cam. Give me the amulet and I will take you out of here with me. We can still have a good time together."

Cam was unmoved. "The only thing I want from you is this." He nodded towards the remote she was still holding and Kami's salacious smile froze on her face.

"You want the amulet...come and get it," Cam growled and raised his fists a few more inches. Next to him, Hunter did likewise.

Kami nodded slowly, her expression turning cold and determined. "If that's how you want it..."

And before they could react, her hands blazed, bright beams of energy shooting from them. With dual cries of pain, Cam and Hunter were thrown sideways into opposite directions. Kami immediately followed up on her attack and somersaulted in between them, lunging for Cam.

The samurai, however, was more agile than she had anticipated; using the momentum from the fall, he rolled backwards and bounced back up in one fluid motion, ducking away as she made a grab for his collar. The next thing she knew, the heel of his boot was coming towards her and she was forced to throw up her arms in defense.

Now the Thunder ninja was back up on his feet, too, and joining the fight and for the next few minutes, the three warriors were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Kami scowled; the Humans were good and working well as a team, delivering blows and kicks in lightning-quick successions. But Kami was not so easily defeated. Summoning the Zakaarian powers within her, she suddenly whirled and - with an inhuman battle cry - caught Hunter in the chest with such a powerful kick that the blond man was lifted off his feet and flung several feet backwards where he collided with a large boulder.

"Hunter!" Cam cried, but did not let himself be distracted as Kami had hoped. Instead of rushing towards his boyfriend, he jumped back, getting a few feet of distance between them, then dropped to one knee.

"Ninja beams!"

Instantly, half a dozen green blurs of energy were speeding towards Kami. She was able to ward off two of them, but the other four struck her in the chest, shoulder and upper arm. Kami cried out, more in annoyance than in pain, as sparks shot from her arm. _The transformer!_

Cam saw her gaze go to her injured limb, then suddenly her expression changed to incredulity. A moment later, Cam started in astonishment when Kami's body began to change in a peculiar transformation.

Before his horrified eyes she suddenly grew until she was about two feet taller and a bit wider than himself. And while she retained a humanoid and even female shape, her appearance metamorphosed from Kami Amigosa to an otherwise doubtlessly alien look. A dark, tight-fitting uniform materialized around her body and whatever flesh remained visible was covered in silvery scale-like body armor. Her hair was replaced by four tentacle-like appendages and her eyes took on the yellow glow that Hunter had briefly glimpsed in the forest. But the most alarming part of her transformation was that she had sprung another set of powerful arms directly beneath the sockets of her original ones.

She let out a roar and raised her four fists, her golden gaze now burning into them.

"Your mistake, _Sensei,_ " she snarled, her voice now deeper and raspier. A metallic echo seemed to follow her words. "You think I was tough as a Human? You have seen nothing yet!"

Cam took a deep breath and resolutely squared his shoulders, trying to keep his rising dismay at bay at the sight of Kami’s menacingly metamorphosed body. Hunter had come up next to Cam and they shared a look of _'let's do this'_ before they simultaneously jumped into action. They attacked Kami from both sides, but the alien warrior simply batted Hunter away with dual swipes from her left arms, flinging him into one of the stagnant pools of water nearby. It turned out to be deeper than it looked and the former Crimson Ranger promptly sank beneath the surface. For a heart-stopping moment, he couldn’t orient himself in the inky blackness, but he forced himself to stay calm until he spotted a patch of darkness not quite as black as the rest. He kicked, propelling his body towards it and a moment later, his head broke through the water again. Frantically, he looked around for Cam and what he saw made his blood run cold.

Somehow, Kami had gotten a hold of Cam and was holding him by the throat, several inches off the ground. Cam’s hands were wrapped around her wrist, but his struggles clearly had no effect on the alien woman. Seemingly effortlessly she held him up, and her cold, metallic laughter echoed through the swamp. Hunter hurled himself towards the edge of the pool, grabbing at anything that could be used to pull himself out of the water, desperate to come to his partner’s aid.

Meanwhile, Kami's hold on Cam's throat tightened, her lips curving into a predatory smile as Cam's air flow was effectively cut off. Her grip was crushing – and cold, like frozen steel.

Cam clawed at her fingers with one hand while with the other he tried to fend off her other arms reaching towards the amulet. The edges of his vision were beginning to turn fuzzy, but before he could pass out Cam pulled up his knees, planting his booted feet firmly in her chest and pushed with all his remaining strength.

It hurt like fire, but slowly the merciless fingers around his throat slipped as they slowly lost their grip around his throat. Then, abruptly, he was free and falling backwards, air rushing back into his burning lungs with a _whoosh_.

Kami was already reaching for him again – only to suddenly rear up and howl in fury when a fist-sized stone bounced off the side of her scaled head. A series of fierce kicks from Hunter drove her back a few steps, just far enough for the Thunder ninja to squeeze by her and hurry to his partner’s side.

“You pathetic fools, you think you can defeat me with sticks and stones?” Kami hollered. One of her hands went into a hidden flap in her uniform and a moment later, she was holding up what looked like an oblong shard of shiny onyx. Her eyes flared in a golden flash and suddenly, the shard began to change shape, elongating to sword-length. A hilt materialized and a moment later, Kami was brandishing a vicious-looking blade of black steel.

“Time to kick this battle up a notch!”

At the sight of the weapon, Cam and Hunter backed up, but only a few steps. Shoulder to shoulder they stood their ground, fists raised again in preparation for the next attack. The odds, though, were now definitely stacked against them; Hunter was wet and cold and Cam was still somewhat weak from Kami’s choking attempt. Without their Ranger powers and lacking any kind of weapon of their own, they wouldn’t last against her much longer. They knew this, and they knew that Kami knew it as well as she laughed evilly and pointed her sword at them. If they couldn’t think of _something_ soon…

A jagged flash of light suddenly flickered across the sky off to his right and Hunter’s head jerked up. _The lightning!_

And suddenly, a plan began to form in his head.

Kami was advancing on them, and they backed up a few steps. Hunter’s mind was working furiously. _Risky, no way to gauge any potential reactions…_

Lightning once again scarred the sky. He knew what he was about to try was dangerous, but there was no other choice. Without taking his eyes off Kami, he mumbled low enough for only Cam to hear, “Talk to her, draw her attention to you; I have an idea.”

Cam only cast him the briefest of glances, then fixed their opponent again with a resolute stare, but Hunter had seen the trust in that minute look; he hoped he could live up to it.

“Why are you so adamant on getting the amulet?” Cam cried. “It’s no use to you. Its power has been drained months ago and there’s nothing that can re-energize it.”

“I have means of reactivating that energy again.” Kami growled.

“Do you have any idea of the magnitude of evil that will be released if you unlock the Abyss?”

“That is not my problem, Human.”

“Even if you manage to get the Abyss open again, what makes you think your people are even down there? During the last battle with Lothor, we destroyed scores of monsters and aliens. They could have all been amongst them.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I will find out very soon.”

Not heeding Kami and Cam’s heated exchange of words, Hunter looked up. _‘The lightning might be otherwordly and evil, but I might still be able to use it…’_ Hunter took a breath, concentrating on calling upon his element and the moment he felt the familiar connection, he thrust up his hand in silent summons, drawing the other-dimensional bolts towards him. He sensed the response and steeled himself and a moment later, a force unlike any other he had ever felt before entered his body. The power almost brought him down to his knees and he couldn’t help but cry out as the alien lightning coalesced with his own element inside him, increasing in magnitude with such speed that he barely managed to aim his other hand towards his inhuman opponent before the electricity shot from his fingers and towards Kami in a seemingly endless streak of supercharged currents. It felt to Hunter like his skin was getting ripped from his arms and his vision blurred, but judging from the agonized shriek coming from the alien warrior, the plan seemed to be working. He channeled the charge for a few more precious seconds until his legs simply wouldn’t hold him any longer and he felt his consciousness fading. Suddenly, the electricity was gone and a moment later, a pair of arms, familiar and very human, wrapped around his waist.

“Whoa, Hunter, are you all right?” Cam’s voice was right by his ear. “It’s okay, you can relax. She’s down, that was great…”

Abruptly, his body was coming down from the adrenalin-induced rush, leaving him weak-limbed, dizzy and tired and he sank to the ground, holding on to Cam. “The remote…” he rasped and Cam’s arms suddenly withdrew.

“Right. I’m on it!”

He heard Cam move and blinked frantically to get the blurriness out of his eyes. When his vision cleared he saw Cam straightening up from bending over Kami who was motionless on her back on the ground. The samurai was now holding Kami’s sword in one hand and something that Hunter could only hope was the still functioning remote control device in the other.

Smoke was curling up from the alien’s body and the scent of charred cloth came floating towards him. He climbed back to his feet, still somewhat unsteady, but stoically staggered towards Kami’s body. Leaning onto Cam for support, he stared down at her just as a tremor was running through the fallen warrior and her eyes opened. She drew in a rattling breath and moved to sit up, but Cam pointed the tip of her sword to her throat, making her freeze in mid-motion.

“Don’t even think about it.” Cam bend forward a bit and his eyes locked with hers. The samurai’s voice was eerily calm, but there was steel in his eyes. “You’ve hurt my family. I don’t take kindly to that.”

At that, Kami’s gaze flickered between the two young men and her shoulders slumped as she finally and silently admitted her defeat, both in combat and in her pursuit of Cam Watanabe. Her eyes came to rest on Hunter and she rasped, “That was a dirty trick.”

Hunter, however, only folded his arms across his chest and fixed her with a pointed look.

“All is fair in love and war, Zakaarian,” he said and his gaze never wavered as he echoed her words from earlier on in the forest.

Kami only snorted, her gaze transferring back to Cam. “Kill me, then!” she cried. “What are you waiting for?”

“No.” Cam shook his head. “I am samurai and I do have a code of honor. And one of the key points of that code is that I will not kill an enemy in cold blood. But you have been defeated and therefore the terms of your surrender are up to us to dictate. So I am giving you two choices: You are free to go, but you will swear a solemn oath to leave Earth immediately and never return. And that means neither you nor any other Zakaarian.

 Or – you choose to take your chances in here, in your own dimension. But we are of course taking the remote with us. And we will not be back, Kami. Once we step through this portal, you’re on your own.”

“So choose,” Hunter chimed in. “You have one minute, ‘cause I’m really itching to get out of here.”

For a long moment, Kami was quiet, her gaze fixed on a spot on the ground. When she finally did look up, the golden light in her eyes was nearly extinguished. “A Zakaarian soldier's victory is richly rewarded. Her failure, however, is severely punished.” Her voice was low and dejected, a far cry from the boasting warrior from only a few minutes ago. “And the penalty that will await me for botching up this important mission would be no less than death. So no matter whether I stay or go, doom will be my fate. Therefore the only choice I really have is the way I die and I choose a soldier’s death.”

Slowly and deliberately, she rose, and Cam let her. “I have only one last request: Will you stay and witness my passing? I do not want to die alone.”

Cam and Hunter exchanged a grave look; neither of them had any desire to watch Kami destroy herself, but it was a last request from warrior to warrior and therefore a matter of honor.

Before long, Cam nodded. “We will stay.”

Kami inclined her head in acknowledgement and as before, her hand went into another pocket of her uniform.

“Don’t worry,” she said when she saw Cam’s hand tightening on her sword. She pulled a dark, metallic disk from her pocket and held it up for them to see. “This is a self-destruct device. On Zakaaria, only high-ranking officers are allowed to carry it and are expected to use it when capture or defeat is imminent.” She lifted it to her chest, fitting it into what Cam suddenly realized was a round, shallow indentation in her uniform. It must have been incorporated into her armor for just that purpose. As soon as the disk was fit into the slot, a small yellow light appeared. It flickered for a moment, then turned red and Kami lifted her head at the exact same moment. The golden glow was back in her eyes.

“But I still mean what I’ve said before: If I can’t have you, no one can!” And with that, she made a last desperate lunge at Cam, but Hunter launched into a ninja-streak at the same time and pulled Cam out of her path, dodging her clawing fingers by a hair’s breadth. They came to a stop several yards away just in time to hear Kami’s furious screech before the sound was abruptly cut off by an ear-splitting explosion.

The resulting shock wave promptly lifted them off their feet. Hunter was knocked flat on his back whereas Cam managed to get himself turned over in midair and hit the ground with his chest and a smack that must have forced all the air out of his lungs. For a moment the two young men lay dazed and motionless before they slowly pulled themselves up into sitting positions. As if on a silent cue, they looked towards where Kami had been just a moment ago, but there was nothing there now; nothing save a small pile of smoking _something_ neither Cam nor Hunter had any intentions of approaching.

Hunter blinked. “She’s gone,” he said quietly. “It’s over.”

Cam nodded slowly. “Yeah…” Suddenly, the ground shook.

Hunter’s head whipped around, a motion that was unintentionally copied by Cam.

“Whoa, what was that?” The Thunder ninja exclaimed. “An aftershock of the explosion?”

Cam pulled himself to his feet, a look of worry in his eyes. “No, I don’t think so. Felt more like an…”

The ground rumbled again.

“…earthquake!” Hunter finished his partner’s sentence as he staggered up himself, leaning on a boulder for support as another tremor ran through the earth.

“The molecular structure of the other-dimensional atmosphere is destabilizing,” Cam cried through the clamor of the now constant rumbling all around them.

“Meaning?”

“The whole place’s getting ready to implode on itself!” Cam whipped out the remote control from where he had tucked it into his jacket pocket. “High time to get out of here!”

“Can’t argue with you there!” Hunter yelled, jumping back as a pile of boulders next to him became dislodged and came crashing down onto the ground.

Cam held up the remote and could honestly say that he was never happier to see the grey and purple vortex appear almost immediately right above them. He motioned for Hunter to go first, then – with one last look back at the smoldering pile that used to be Kami – he leapt up and through the portal.

 

                                               ********************

 

They landed on the ground with a hard thump and soft _ouch_ from Hunter. Cam scrambled to his feet, literally dragging Hunter away from the now closing portal. He stood ready, just in case, but nothing came through and the portal closed and disappeared. He let out a long sigh and relaxed. Hunter slowly groaned his way to his feet and stood next to him, glancing down at the remote in his partner’s hand. "It's over?"

Cam shook his head. "Almost. Do you mind?" He held up the remote and Hunter grinned as he got his meaning.

"Never."

Cam gave him a tiny grin and threw the remote into the air. Hunter raised his hand and suddenly, lightning blasted from his finger tips and hit the remote, shattering it into a thousand pieces. As the fragments rained down on them, the samurai said, "Now it's over."

They stood there for a long moment and then Hunter clapped Cam gently on the shoulder.

"Come on, time to go home."

With that, they turned and made their way back through the forest into the direction of the Thunder Academy. And judging from the way Cam kept casting speculative glances at Hunter’s shoulder, Hunter had no doubt that the first place they would end up at upon their arrival was back in the infirmary.

For quite a while they walked in companionable silence, both occupied with their own thoughts on the events of the past few hours. They were about a mile from the Thunder Academy when Hunter slowed down his pace, a hand on Cam’s shoulder indicating that he should do the same. “Cam?”

The halting tone of his voice made Cam cast him an inquisitive look, his eyebrows going up at the wary expression on Hunter’s face.

“What you said to Kami back there…” Hunter gave Cam a look from under lowered eyelashes. “Do you really think of me that way? As part of your family?”

The almost timid inquiry made Cam grin and his gaze never wavered from Hunter’s face. “Yes, I do.”

The smile he received from Hunter at that could have easily powered Blue Bay Harbor for an entire day. Nevertheless, though, Hunter obviously felt the need to play devil’s advocate.

“Your father might argue that point,” he said, but Cam resolutely shook his head.

“I don’t think so. I think he’s come to realize how good we are for each other. And how much I…I love you.”

Hunter’s reply was a hand in Cam’s hair and his body pressing up against him with obvious intention of kissing the last bit of breath out of the samurai. And just to make sure Hunter wasn’t changing his mind about this, Cam’s head surged forward and upwards, capturing his partner’s lips with an urgency that must have surprised the former Crimson Ranger - and surprised himself even more. 

 

Epilogue – a few weeks later…

 

The small glade was quiet and out of the way. There was a small rock pool that had a tiny waterfall flowing gently down the rocks into the pool. The sounds of the water hitting the rocks filled the clearing with a soft tinkling sound that suited the surroundings perfectly. The water was sweet tasting and was always cold. The surrounding trees filled the small glade with sweet smells of fresh leaves and tiny flowers. The soft grass surrounding the pool was gentle and green, inviting even. Rock walls surrounded the small out of the way clearing, guaranteeing privacy for those who wanted it. And the two people that came to this small, quiet, serene clearing always appreciated the privacy.

The two men were lying on a blanket, the sun streaming through the leaves, water glistening off their bare bodies. They were lying in the sun, eyes closed, both breathing hard, their hands entwined and chests heaving. The tall blonde Ninja stirred after a long moment and opened his eyes.

"Mmmm. This is the one good thing that came out of this whole Kami mess." Cam turned to him, pushing himself up on one elbow and resting his head on his hand, absently tracing circles on Hunter's bare chest with his free hand.

"And that would be what?"

"You, me, here, like this, hopefully for the first time of many" Cam gave him a small smile that was just for Hunter. He pushed back a strand of damp hair off Hunter's face.

"I think something can be arranged." Hunter reached up and pulled Cam's face down to his, kissing his lips gently. After a moment they separated and Cam scooted closer, resting his head on Hunter's chest, wrapping his arm around his waist. Hunter had been surprised by how much Cam enjoyed feeling the touch of his hands and how he felt with Cam's hands on him. It had been a learning and loving experience for them both. But Hunter frowned slightly, a dark thought suddenly coming to him.

"Cam, what if these Zakaarians get suspicious after a while when Kami doesn't return and decide to come to Earth and look for her?" Hunter looked down at the top of Cam's head on his chest. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Which I hope will never be." Cam's voice was hard and determined and Hunter instinctively wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's bare torso. Cam continued to speak softly. "But no matter what, we'll stop them just as we stopped her. Nothing is ever going to come between us Hunter, nothing and no-one." Hunter just smiled and closed his eyes, lifting his face to the sun.

"Now I like the sound of that."

THE END


End file.
